The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. The road ahead, again. (Vol 6).

Well, we have another edition.  It's been an interesting session.

February 12, 2023

Today we start off with an item that isn't actually legislative, but given as the GOP controls the legislature, related to it.

Yesterday, we noted that the GOP apparently sent an email to legislatures urging them not to vote for HB7, the bill which would eliminate, and indeed invalidate, marriages involving anyone under 16 years of age.  We noted there that this proposal has been made before, and failed.  Now the GOP has apparently come out in some capacity against it, for reasons which you can read in the last edition of this thread.

Now the GOP leadership has come out with a condemnation of Cynthia Lummis for her vote in the Senate on the bill which statutorily adopted the holding of Obergefell, thereby protecting same gender unions as marriages from state revocation.  Lummis, by voting the way she did, was likely demonstrating her uncanny ability to switch directions and tack with the winds in advance of their shifting, but the local GOP isn't happy about it and passed a resolution condemning her actions.

All of this somewhat demonstrates that the GOP organization remains solidly very right wing, but its influence isn't extending out as far as it likely thought it would.  The host of really populist bills in the current legislature have not done well, and the new populist firebrands have not extended much influence so far.

February 14, 2024

HB 104 allowing the taking of predatory animals at night has passed both houses but was amended by the House of Representatives to include laser sighting systems, and so is back to the Senate for concurrence.

Frankly, as a hunter, I feel that this bill is a bad technological trend.  Probably an inevitable one, but one hunters will regret.

HB131 allowing for online sports wagering, amended to require licenses and permits, passed both houses.

The Cowboy State Journal did an article on teenage marriages in the state which was somewhat interesting, with this coming up in the context of HB 7.  The article noted, and I quote:

The Busy Teen Wedding Year  

In Department of Health data spanning from 1978 to recent months, the peak year for underage marriages was 1980. There were 670 teens who married that year. Three of them were 14 years old, 30 were 15, 217 were 16 and 370 were 17.   

13 And Younger  

In only four years since 1978 have people 13 and younger received marriage licenses in Wyoming.  

Those years were 1978, when one person 13 or younger was married; 1979, when there were two; 1987 (one); and 1995 (one).   

Age 14  

There were, however, 20 years in which 14-year-olds married in Wyoming since 1978. The most recent of those was in 2012, when one 14-year-old was married. There have been 37 people married in the state at age 14 overall since 1978.   

The year with the most 14-year-olds wedded was 1979, when there were six.   

Age 15  

The most recent marriage involving a 15-year-old in Wyoming was 2015. It was the first since 2009, when four 15-year-olds were married.   

The numbers tapered off significantly starting in about 1984. Before then, between 22 and 36 people married each year at age 15.   

In 1984 there were 14 people married at 15. The numbers dropped again in 1987, with eight. They continued to dwindle with occasional jumps: to nine in 1994 and nine in 2006, though they never crested the single digits after 1986.   

Age 16  

In every year since 1978, including last year, 16-year-olds have gotten married. There were six in 2022.   

That’s a mere fraction of the figures of the late 1970s and 1980s, with 215 in 1978; 226 in 1979; 217 in 1980 and 148 in 1981.   

The numbers first dropped below 100 in 1985, at 96. They didn’t hit single digits until 2010, when there were six.   

Age 17  

Likewise, 17-year-olds get married every year in Wyoming.   

There were 374 wed in 1978 and 420 in 1980.   

But there were only 10 people that age married last year. So far this year, 2023, there have been four 17-year-olds married.   

Totals  

The totals of minors’ marriages are in the same descent as individual categories, with 627 minors married altogether in 1978 and 16 in 2022. Though the numbers fluctuated in between those two dates, the pattern of descent has been mostly consistent.   

An online journal also went after a leading figure in the GOP in the state in a really blistering fashion, accusing that person of serial infidelities and making house outside of marriage, as well as other things.  If the author is correct, and I'm going to hold off naming people as I don't know if he is or not, it would be a shocking example of outright hypocrisy, particularly in regard to the GOP's opposition to HB 7 on moral grounds.

Not that this has been unusual in recent years.  Donald Trump is hardly a moral paragon, but nonetheless he was embraced by some on the evangelical right.

February 14, 2023, cont

Governor Gordon to Sign First Bills of 2023 Legislative Session on Wednesday, February 15

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will hold a formal bill signing ceremony on Wednesday February 15 at 3 pm in the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The ceremony is open to the public.

The Governor will sign the following bills:

Bill No.   Enrolled Act # Bill Title

SF 0023    SEA 0003         Treatment courts - transfer to judicial branch.

HB 0028   HEA 0008        Community College Capital Construction

HB 0029   HEA 0007        Community College Funding- Distance Education Credit Hours

-END-

February 15, 2023

The crossover voting bill, designed to address Republican fears that vast hordes of Democrats will cross into the GOP seconds before a primary, and which had died in a Senate Committee, was moved to a more favorable committee in a parliamentary move in hopes of keeping the remaining three Democrats from switching parties in this fashion.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who campaigned on stolen election fantasies, is in favor of the bill, as of course he would have to be.

This move, which is a little chickensh** in my view, is being reported as rare, but I can recall it happening in the last general session.

It should be noted that if Democrats crossing over was effective, Cheney would still be our Representative, which she didn't even come close to being.

It should also be noted that all the hardcore really left wing Democrats that made a big deal of their crossing over should have shut up, as they sure didn't do anything any favors by being vocal about their decision.

House Bill 147 has passed, banning improper posting of public lands in an effort to deter hunters.

ENROLLED ACT NO. 18,  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING

2023 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to game and fish; amending the crime of interference with lawful taking of wildlife; prohibiting acts that restrict access to or use of state or federal land as specified; providing an exception; specifying applicability; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

 

Section 1.  W.S. 23‑3‑405(a) by creating a new paragraph (iii) and (g) by creating a new paragraph (iii) is amended to read:

23‑3‑405.  Interference with lawful taking of wildlife prohibited; penalties; damages; injunction.

(a)  No person shall with the intent to prevent or hinder the lawful taking of any wildlife:

(iii)  Knowingly and without authorization post or maintain in place signs that restrict access to or use of state or federal land on which the lawful taking of or the process of lawfully taking any wildlife is permitted. For purposes of this subsection, "knowingly" means the person has received prior notice from a peace officer that the sign is located on state or federal land.

(g)  This section shall:

(iii)  Not interfere with any landowner's right to prevent trespass on the landowner's private property.

Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2023.

This is a good bill, and I'm glad it passed.

This odd bill passed:

 ENROLLED ACT NO. 17, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING

2023 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to defense forces and affairs; authorizing veterans to present their driver's licenses or identification cards as proof of their veteran status as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 19‑14‑113 is created to read:

19‑14‑113.  Veteran designation on driver's license.

(a)  Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, if a person has a veteran designation on their Wyoming driver's license or identification card pursuant to W.S. 31‑7‑141, any local government entity as defined by W.S. 9‑2‑3219(a)(vi) shall allow the person to present their Wyoming driver's license or identification card instead of a military form DD 214 as proof of their status as a veteran.

(b)  At the request of the military department or if information other than the person's status as a veteran is required, the military department or other local government entity may ask for further documentation including a military form DD 214.

Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2023.

I'm not sure why a person would have a veteran designation on their license, but they can.  Maybe I'll add one if it'll help prevent me from getting speeding tickets or something. 

February 16, 2023 

Governor’s First Bill Signing Advances Mental Health Care in Wyoming and Bolsters Ability to Fight to Protect Coal Industry

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Governor Mark Gordon signed the first bills of the 2023 Legislative session during a public signing ceremony at the Capitol today.

The first bill to be signed by the Governor was Senate File 0023- Treatment courts - transfer to judicial branch. The "Court Supervised Treatment Programs Act” transfers responsibility and oversight of court-supervised treatment programs from the Wyoming Department of Health to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Governor Gordon praised the legislation as an example of a collaborative effort between the Legislative, Judicial and Executive Branches, and said it offered an opportunity to strengthen the state’s drug treatment courts. At the signing, Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court Kate Fox expressed her support for the legislation, saying the bill will help improve the way the judicial branch addresses mental health and substance abuse issues. 

The Governor also signed House Bill 0069 Coal-fired facility closures litigation funding-amendments. That bill provides additional flexibility for the Governor to utilize an account dedicated to funding litigation against entities that “impede Wyoming's ability to export coal, that cause the early retirement of coal-fired electric generation facilities located in Wyoming, that result in the decreased use of Wyoming coal or the closure of coal-fired electric generation facilities that use Wyoming coal.”

“Coal has a future in Wyoming. Thank you to the Legislature for helping to make a broader use of these funds, so we can be much more proactive in protecting our coal industries’ future,” Governor Gordon said. 

The Governor signed the following bills today:

Enrolled Act # Bill# Bill Title

HEA0001 HB0112 Theft-penalty for fifth or subsequent offense.

HEA0002 HB0111 Endangering children-fentanyl.

HEA0003 HB0097 Chancery court jurisdiction amendments.

HEA0004 HB0050 Solid waste cease and transfer program funding.

HEA0005 HB0045 Peace officer retirement and rehiring.

HEA0006 HB0039 Verifying the veteran designation on a WY driver's license.

HEA0007 HB0029 Community college funding-distance education credit hours.

HEA0008 HB0028 Community college capital construction.

HEA0009 HB0012 Presumptive child support amounts-updated tables.

HEA0010 HB0010 County officers-bond amounts and surety requirement.

HEA0012 HB0069 Coal-fired facility closures litigation funding-amendments.

HEA0013 HB0070 Definition of home-based educational program.

HEA0014 HB0026 School facilities-appropriations.

SEA0001 SF0002 Wyoming telecommunications act-sunset date.

SEA0002 SF0004 North American Industry Classification System amendments.

SEA0003 SF0023 Treatment courts-transfer to judicial branch.

SEA0004 SF0077 Public works apprenticeship programs-repeal.

SEA0005 SF0013 Bar and grill liquor license phaseout

SEA0006 SF0026 Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact

SEA0007 SF0122 Nonresident workers-vehicle registration extension

SEA0008 SF0118 Fund balance calculations-federal encumbrances excluded

SEA0009 SF0057 State held drainage district bonds

SEA0010 SF0036 Investment funds committee-selection panel amendments

SEA0011 SF0033 Defining aircraft for purposes of hunting prohibitions

SEA0012 SF0028 Livestock infectious disease control-tribal inclusion

SEA0013 SF0017 Off-road recreational vehicles-safety and insurance

SEA0014 SF0015 Military leave for state employees

SEA0015 SF0014 Wyoming national guard professional malpractice liability

SEA0016 SF0005 Medical malpractice statutory update

SEA0017 SF0006 Insurance rebating modernization

SEA0018 SF0024 Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults

SEA0019 SF0063 Tax administration revisions

SEA0020 SF0059 State parks account-agency expenditure authority

SEA0021 SF0020 Driver's license and ID card photo quality

SEA0022 SF0018 Benefits for spouses of law enforcement members

SEJR1      SJ0007 Support for Taiwan

-END-

On the coal litigation item, the money that's dedicated to that might as well just be shoveled into the furnaces itself.  It's going nowhere, and everybody in the know is aware of that.

February 7, 2023

HB7 banning kiddie marriages passed the Senate, but in amended form, so it's back to the house for reconciliation.

The voting on the bill in the Senate was interesting.  It was as follows:

Ayes: Anderson, Barlow, Biteman, Boner, Bouchard, Brennan, Case, Cooper, Ellis, French, Furphy, Gierau, Jones, Kinskey, Kolb, Landen, Laursen, Nethercott, Pappas, Rothfuss, Schuler, Scott, President Driskill

Nays: Baldwin, Dockstader, Hicks, Hutchings, Ide, McKeown, Salazar

Excused: Steinmetz

So it split the far right to at least a slight extent, with Bouchard, the only one who has personal experience in this area, voting aye.

In the House, before it was amended in the Senate, and before the GOP came out against the bill, it was as follows:

Ayes: Andrew, Berger, Brown, Burkhart, Jr, Byron, Chadwick, Chestek, Clouston, Conrad, Crago, Eklund, Harshman, Henderson, Larsen, Lloyd, Larson, JT, Lawley, Nicholas, Niemiec, Oakley, Northrup, Obermueller, O'Hearn, Olsen, Provenza, Sherwood, Stith, Storer, Trujillo, Walters, Washut, Western, Wylie, Yin, Zwonitzer, Dan, Zwonitzer, Dave, Speaker Sommers

Nays: Allemand, Allred, Angelos, Banks, Bear, Davis, Haroldson, Heiner, Hornok, Jennings, Knapp, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Penn, Rodriguez-Williams, Singh, Slagle, Smith, Strock, Styvar, Tarver, Ward, Winter

Here you can see the far right was against it, and it only passed the House by ten votes.

Essentially, we can take it from this that the far right opposes this bill for some reason, but why?

In other news, the Cowboy State Daily did a piece on Lester Hunt noting his position on Japanese internees during World War Two.  

I'd wondered if this would come up in regard to the resolution to honor him.

February 18, 2023

Senate Bill 152, the sweeping abortion ban bill, might not get assigned to a Senate Committee.  In another surprising parliamentary move, the Senate President might simply keep it in his drawer over concerns about the bill's constitutionality and views of constituents.

February 19, 2023

Governor Gordon Takes Action on 8 Bills on Saturday, February 18

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Governor Mark Gordon took action on eight bills on Saturday, February 18. The Governor signed the following bills into law today: 

Enrolled Act # Bill # Bill Title

 

HEA0015 HB0035 Day-care certification requirement amendments

HEA0016 HB0082 Defendant mental illness examinations-amendments

HEA0017 HB0160 Drivers license veterans designation replacing DD form 214

HEA0018 HB0147 Unlawful trespass signage-taking of wildlife

HEA0019 HB0019 State Indian Child Welfare Act task force

SEA0023 SF0078 Apprenticeship and job training promotion in schools

SEA0024 SF0176 Solid waste disposal districts-consolidation

SEA0025 SF0041 Skill based amusement games-authorized locations.

 

With this, posting public land to deter hunters is now illegal.

February 20, 2023

The Tribune, in its editorial from yesterday, accused the legislature of hypocrisy.  Among the bills causing that charge was the efforts to kill the underage marriage bill.

February 21, 2023

Governor Gordon to Hold Public Bill Signing Today, Tuesday, February 21

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will hold a formal bill signing ceremony today, Tuesday February 21 beginning at 2 pm in the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The ceremony is open to the public.

The Governor will sign the following bills:

Enrolled Act #  Bill# Bill Title

SEA0027 SF0011 Cancer early detection amendments

HEA0020 HB0018 Missing person alert systems

HEA0022 HB0061 Source material associated with mining-agreement

HEA0026 HB0175 Excused absence-state fair events

HEA0028 HB0057 Armed forces-amendments.

HEA0031 HB0239 Vehicle idling-decriminalization.

HEA0032 HB0142 Notice of annexation.

February 22, 2023

The legislature grew testy yesterday as the sponsor of a bill on pharmaceutical regulation complained about edits being made without notice.

This is the second time in a week when there's been an open spat regarding committee edits to bills being made and a legislator feeling that something about the process was improper.

Governor Gordon Signs Bill to Help Advance Rare Earth Elements Mining in Wyoming

Also signs bill to advance Missing and Murdered Indigenous People response and vetoes first bill of the session

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill to advance Wyoming’s leadership on developing rare earth and critical minerals today. He also took action on 25 other bills on Tuesday, February 21. 

At a ceremony in the Capitol the Governor signed into law a bill  giving Wyoming primacy to permit and regulate parts of the rare earth and critical minerals industry. House Bill 0061 amends the existing Agreement State Status with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow Wyoming the permitting and regulatory authority for rare earth elements source materials. The Legislature passed this bill with unanimous support and today, the Governor signed both HB 0061 and sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Governor also signed House Bill 0018 - Missing person alert systems. Sponsored by the Select Committee on Tribal Relations, the bill aids in the administrative establishment of a new Ashanti Alert. The alert will function similarly to an Amber alert, sending out rapid notifications to cell phones and other media regarding missing adults. Local law enforcement can request these alerts, which will be initiated statewide by the Wyoming Highway Patrol upon meeting specific alert criteria. The legislation came from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force the Governor established. 

Governor Gordon exercised his veto authority on House Bill 0106 - Eminent domain-wind energy collector systems. The Governor said that the bill’s nine-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain is likely to stall development in Wyoming. Previously the moratorium had only been in place for two years at a time. He also expressed concern that the bill would interfere with the rights of private landowners to exercise their private property and contractual rights, as well as their right to contract with whomever they choose. He noted that many ranchers and farmers in Wyoming have successfully negotiated with wind developers and are enhancing the ability of their lands to provide income for their families. While recognizing eminent domain is a delicate issue, the Governor asked the Legislature to examine the use of eminent domain authority, and then revisit the need for a moratorium in a future session and consider a shorter moratorium if it is necessary.

The Governor signed the following bills into law today: 

Enrolled Act #

Bill #

Bill Title

HEA0020 HB0018 Missing person alert systems

HEA0021 HB0020 Land exchanges-notice

HEA0022 HB0061 Source material associated with mining-agreement

HEA0023 HB0181 Online sports wagering-amendments

HEA0024 HB0013 Office of guardian ad litem-program references

HEA0025 HB0079 Voter I.D. requirements

HEA0026 HB0175 Excused absence-state fair events

HEA0027 HB0086 Disclosure of private cryptographic keys.

HEA0028 HB0057 Armed forces-amendments.

HEA0029 HB0015 County authority to dissolve museum boards-clarification.

HEA0030 HB0005 Voter registry list-voter ID and absentee ballots.

HEA0031 HB0239 Vehicle idling-decriminalization.

HEA0032 HB0142 Notice of annexation.

HEA0034 HB0041 Lightweight trailers-permanent registration.

SEA0026 SF0008 Essential subsidy payments to behavioral health centers

SEA0027 SF0011 Cancer early detection amendments

SEA0028 SF0031 Adjacent land resource data trespass-repeal

SEA0029 SF0025 District and prosecuting attorneys-bar license requirement

SEA0030 SF0068 Prescriptive easement for water conveyances.

SEA0031 SF0173 Financial institutions-similar names

SEA0032 SF0139 Unlawful use of a charge card or debit card

SEA0033 SF0069 Electronic records retention

SEA0034 SF0055 Chancery court vacancies-extension amendment

SEA0035 SF0040 Federal political action committees-reports

SEA0036 SF007 Definition of opiate antagonist-amendment.

The Governor vetoed the following bill. His veto letter is attached and linked below.

HEA0033 HB0106 Eminent domain-wind energy collector systems.

The full list of bills the Governor has taken action on during the 2023 Legislative Session can be found on the Governor's website.

-END-

The bill that got vetoed pertained to eminent domain and wind turbines. The Governor's letter stated:

February 22, cont.

Interesting news on parliamentary procedure was in evidence today.

SF 117 was subject to an attempt by Jeanette Ward to go around the Speaker of the House, who has simply kept the bill on "parental rights on education" on his desk for over 20 days.  Ward tried to move to assign it to a committee, and the Speaker torpedoed the move.

It'll likely never move off the desk, amounting to another defeat for the populist right.

SF 144, Chloe's Law, also failed in committee, which is frankly very surprising.  It's not dead, but the chances of it advancing seem quite limited now. A similar bill by Charles Scott remains active.

February 23, 2024

The Life Is A Human Right bill, HB 152, which was lingering unassigned in the Senate, has now been assigned to the Agricultural Committee where it will likely pass.  There is apparently speculation it would not pass the Health Committee.

The bill designed to allow the state to negotiate with the Tribes on hunting rights, HB 83, failed.  It largely failed as the Tribes came out against it.

February 23, cont.

Governor Gordon to Hold Public Bill Signing Today, Thursday, February 23

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will hold a formal bill signing ceremony today, Thursday, February 23 beginning at 2 pm in the Governor's Ceremonial Conference Room in the State Capitol Building. The ceremony is open to the public.

The Governor will sign the following bills:

Enrolled Act #       Bill#               Bill Title

HEA0036               HB0065          988 suicide prevention.

SEA0039               SF0010            Licensed professional counselor compact.

SEA0038              SF0043            EMS districts.

HEA0044              HB0007           Underage marriage-amendments.

HEA0041              HB0127           Health care facilities and clergy.

HEA0050              HB0056           Purple star schools

HEA0048              HB0134           Alcohol sales to licensees

HEA0042              HB0044           Road and bridge construction-alternative contracting.

HEA0046              HB0279           Voter identification requirements

February 24, 2023

And the following were in fact signed into law yesterday.

Governor Gordon Takes Action on 8 Bills on Saturday, February 18

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Governor Mark Gordon took action on nine bills on Thursday, February 23. The Governor signed the following bills into law today:  

Enrolled Act # Bill # Bill Title 

HEA0036 HB0065  988 suicide prevention.

HEA0041 HB0127  Health care facilities and clergy.

HEA0042 HB0044  Road and bridge construction-alternative contracting.

HEA0044 HB0007  Underage marriage-amendments.

HEA0046 HB0279  Voter identification requirements

HEA0048 HB0134  Alcohol sales to licensees

HEA0050 HB0056  Purple star schools

SEA0038 SF0043   EMS districts.

SEA0039 SF0010   Licensed professional counselor compact.

The full list of bills the Governor has taken action on during the 2023 Legislative Session can be found on the Governor's website.

Therefore, take note would be Romeo's and Juliet's, you have to wait until you are 16 to seek to marry.

An amended Life Is A Human Right Act passed out of Senate Committee, but stripped of the provisions that tied it to a Wyoming Supreme Court decision, and adding rape and incest exceptions.

Anthony Bouchard has called on the Wyoming GOP to censure the Speaker of the House for putting Chloe's Law in his bottom drawer.  If the bill doesn't make it out by Monday, it will fall due to a legislative deadline for bills passing one chamber to make it out of committee in the next.

Part of the problem here is that the bill was amended significantly in the House and then came back with a "do not pass" from committee, which means that its chances are poor otherwise.   Bills that suffer that fate are automatically put in the bottom drawer, although the speaker feels that it is likely to come out before the deadline.

The Speaker indicates he flat out won't let SF117, the Parental Rights In Education Act, out on the floor, in part because he feels it intrudes on local control by school boards.

Sommers  has also put Senate File 86, allowing Wyomingites to use their concealed carry permits as voter identification in the drawer, but due to  House Bill 79 which was a mirror already being passed into law. He put Senate File 143 also is stuck in Sommers’ drawer, establishing a scholarship fund to send some Wyoming students to private schools instead of public, as a nearly identical bill has already failed.

February 25, 2023

HB 103, the Cross Over Voting bill designed to prevent an imaginary problem of imaginary Democrats crossing over to spoil primary elections, has passed the Legislature.  It's unknown if the Governor will sign it.

HB 104, allowing use of infrared scopes to hunt predators at night was signed into law.  I frankly don't think this was a good idea.

The bill also cleared up some questions about predator hunteres being able to hunt on state lands.

Governor Gordon Signs Supplemental Budget with Historic Savings to Keep Taxes Low For Future Generations

**Corrected with updated budget letter**

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon signed a supplemental budget that places more than $1 billion in savings, allowing the state to keep taxes low and generate higher investment returns that will benefit future generations. Today, the Governor also took action on 16 other bills.

“I congratulate the Legislature for its work on my budget recommendations,” Governor Gordon said. “It is gratifying that the budget submitted to me is closely aligned with my original recommendations. Where we disagreed, or where they overstepped the separation of powers embedded in our Constitution, I exercised my veto authority. The fiscal condition of the State remains strong.”

The Governor thanked the Legislature for delivering a budget that reflects the approach he outlined in his supplemental budget proposal – one that sets aside funds for leaner times ahead and addresses the inflationary pressures facing Wyoming citizens and the concerns of the state’s most vulnerable and those living on fixed incomes. Most notably, this budget provides for more property tax relief for citizens. 

Governor Gordon noted that for every dollar of state revenue spent in the supplemental budget, it saves roughly $3.50. In addition to savings, the Supplemental Budget makes strategic investments in Wyoming. These include additional funding for the Property Tax Refund Program, support for the state’s energy industries and a market adjustment for state employees and teachers to offset the impacts of inflation. 

The Governor used his authority to issue several line-item vetoes, including items that are overly prescriptive and those that present separation of powers concerns. The Governor’s budget letter explaining his line-item vetoes is attached and may be found here.

Governor Gordon also exercised his veto authority on Senate File 0071- State loan and bond programs. In his letter, the Governor pointed out that the bill reduces the amount of funding available to the State Loan and Investment Board for farm loans, shrinking the safety net available to the agriculture industry. The Governor also expressed concern that the changes the legislation makes to the interest rates for farm loans put the State in competition with private financial institutions.

The Governor signed the following bills into law: 

Enrolled Act Bill # Bill Title

HEA0035 HB0021 State lands-use of land qualification requirements.

HEA0038 HB0031 BOCES as local education agencies.

HEA0039 HB0174 Homestead exemption-amendments.

HEA0040 HB0027 School facilities-consolidated remediation schedule.

HEA0043 HB0165 Living organ donor protection.

HEA0045 HB0096 Transfer on death deed-insurance coverage.

HEA0047 HB0148 Airport liquor licenses-amendment

HEA0049 HB0062 Open banking

HEA0051 HB0042 Off-road recreational vehicle operation

HEA0052 HB0104 Hunting of predatory animals-amendments

SEA0040 SF0037 Podiatry medical services-Medicaid.

SEA0041 SF0029 Brucellosis management updates.

SEA0042 SF0095 Moon landing day.

SEA0043 SF0065 Compensation of local registrars-repeal.

SEA0044 SF0058 Sutton archaeological site administration.

The Governor exercised his line-item veto authority on the following bill. The Governor's letter is attached:

HEA  0037 HB001 General government appropriations.

The Governor vetoed the following bill. The Governor’s letter is attached and linked:

SEA0037 SF0071 State loan and bond programs..

-END-

Last prior edition:

The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. The road ahead. (Vol 5).

The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. The road ahead. (Vol 5).

 

I would have preferred that this thread not be split into five parts, but it's been a weird, political year, hasn't it?

That's reflected itself in the legislature.  I don't know if there's ever been a year when so many bills shave been introduced.  If there has been, I don't recall it.  Necessarily, therefore, a lot of them have died on the vine, including a lot that deserved to.  Nonetheless, a lot that should have died trudge on that weary path up the hill towards the Governor's Bic.

Well, here's hoping that many of them grow weak, fall off the side of the road, and pass on into legislative death.

Given as we're in a new phase of the legislature, I'm not going to try to run all the bills that have passed one house or the other, or which have failed. At this point, that's too burdensome.  But we'll continue to track the path of major bills, and where they're at.

February 9, 2023

The House amended HB 152, a new wide-ranging abortion ban, so that it will only take effect if the current "trigger law" ban is struck down by the Wyoming Supreme Court.

HB 152 contained language attempting to address constitutional concerns.  It now goes on to the Senate.  My prediction is that this will not, in its amended form, pass the Senate.

SF133 providing that high school athletes must compete in their actual gender, i.e., the gender of their DNA, passed the House.  This will pass the Senate.

HB 4, extending postpartum Medicaid, passed the House and is on to the Senate.

SF144, one of the two laws banning the surgical and chemical mutilation of minors in the name of changing their gender, introduced as Chloe's Law, passed the Senate with only 5 no votes.  Those voting no were Republican Sens. Fred Baldwin (Kemmerer), Jim Anderson (Casper) and Cale Case (Lander); and Democratic Sens. Chris Rothfuss (Laramie) and Mike Gierau (Jackson).  Case is a surprise given that he's very conservative, as is Anderson.

This bill is named for Chloe Cole.  Cole started taking hormone blockers at 13 and underwent a double mastectomy at 15.  Like Hines', she's become a crusader against underage mutilation in the name of "gender affirming care".

Another Illinois Ward bill, HB 143, bit the dust in what is becoming a legislative losing streak for the transplanted Midwesterner.  The bill would have prevented Wyoming from following World Health Organization and Centers For Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for COVID-19 restrictions.  The vote was 32-29.

Public COVID provisions are a big deal for the Illinoisan who left her state at least partially for such reasons, apparently under the delusion they had not applied in Wyoming.

My prediction is that this record of failure is not going to cause a reassessment of anything, including her relocation to Wyoming and importation of Midwestern views.  Freedom Caucus members will double down after the session and claim they were sabotaged by "Rino's", i.e., Wyomingites.

HB 154 allowing for permanent vehicle registration passed the House.

HB 188 providing for wolf depredation payments passed the House.

HB 47, which had gotten out of committee with two amendments sent over by Chuck Gray, who apparently has a lot of time on his hands in his new job as a public servant, was stripped of them. The amended House Bill 47 would have given the Secretary of State power to make decisions about the reliability of a county’s election equipment without the local clerks’ approval.

Gray campaigned on the stolen election lie and made supposed election security the centerpiece of his bid for the office of Secretary of State. Hopefully when the legislative session is over, he can get to his new clerical job of stamping filings and other things the office does most of the time.

February 9, 2023

And today, HB 103, a bill favored by Chuck Gray to prevent crossover voting, bit the dust.  Gray, taking time out of his busy schedule doing filings and checking on security interest priorities, testified in front of the committee handling the bill before it gave him the middle finger salute and dumped the bill, suggesting that his new-found role has not accorded weight to all of the state's legislators.

February 10, 2023

The gun 'em down trespass bill, which had passed the House, died in the Senate., not making it out of committee.

Speaking against the bill as voices of reason were conservation groups and a rancher, who noted that he had dozens of trespassers per year and though the bill was a bad idea.  

The person whose thoughts lead to the introduction of the bill, a person who provides church security in Buffalo, admitted that if somebody was dangerous they already did what was necessary to escort a person out, although that really fits into a different category.  It perhaps demonstrates why this bill was unnecessary at best.

February 11, 2023

A somewhat confusing story broke yesterday, in more than one Wyoming electronic news media outlet, reporting that the Wyoming Republican Party, or at least central figures in the party organization, are condemning HB 7, the bill that prohibits marriages, in its now amended form, under 16 years of age, and requires court permission for those below 18 years of age. That now amended bill reads as follows:

2023

STATE OF WYOMING

23LSO-0297

ENGROSSED

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0007

Underage marriage-amendments.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Zwonitzer, Dn and Oakley and Senator(s) Case and Furphy

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to domestic relations; amending the minimum marriageable age; specifying that marriages involving persons under age sixteen (16) are void; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 20‑1‑102, 20‑1‑103(c)(iii), 20‑1‑105(b) and 20‑2‑101(a) by creating a new paragraph (iv) and (b) are amended to read:

20‑1‑102.  Minimum marriageable age; exception; parental consent.

(a)  At the time of marriage the parties shall be at least sixteen (16) eighteen (18) years of age except as otherwise provided. No person shall marry who is under the age of sixteen (16) years.

(b)  All marriages involving a person under sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age are prohibited and voidable, unless before contracting the marriage a judge of a court of record in Wyoming approves the marriage and authorizes the county clerk to issue a license therefor. All marriages involving a person under sixteen (16) years of age are void.

(c)  When either party is a minor sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age, no license shall be granted without the verbal consent, if present, and written consent, if absent, of the father, mother, guardian or person having the care and control of the minor person sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age. Written consent shall be proved by the testimony of at least one (1) competent witness.

20‑1‑103.  License; required.

(c)  Unless there is an order to waive the requirements of this section by a judge of a court of record in the county pursuant to W.S. 20‑1‑105, the clerk shall refuse to issue a license if:

(iii)  Either party is a minor sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age and the consent of a parent or guardian has not been given.

20‑1‑105.  Judge may order license issued.

(b)  If either party is under sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age, the parents or guardians may apply to any judge of a court of record in the county of residence of the minor person sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age for an order authorizing the marriage and directing the issuance of a marriage license. If the judge believes it advisable, he shall enter an order authorizing the marriage and directing the county clerk to issue a license. Upon filing of a certified copy of the order with the county clerk, the county clerk shall issue a license and endorse thereon the fact of the issuance of the order. No person authorized to perform marriage ceremonies in Wyoming shall perform any marriage ceremony if either party is under the age specified by this subsection unless the license contains the endorsement of sixteen (16) years.

20‑2‑101.  Void and voidable marriages defined; annulments.

(a)  Marriages contracted in Wyoming are void without any decree of divorce:

(iv)  When either party is under sixteen (16) years of age at the time of contracting the marriage.

(b)  A marriage is voidable if solemnized when either party was under the age of legal consent sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age unless a judge gave consent, if they separated during nonage and did not cohabit together afterwards, or if the consent of one (1) of the parties was obtained by force or fraud and there was no subsequent voluntary cohabitation of the parties.

Section 2.  This act shall apply to all marriages entered into on and after the effective date of this act.

Section 3.  This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

I've been waiting for the opposition to happen.

This bill sailed through the house and is in the Senate, and I'm frankly surprised that the opposition didn't appear before now. Not because the bill is a bad idea.  It's a good one, and it should pass.  Marriages lower than 16 years old are a hideous idea, and frankly marriage below 18 sure a good one.  Nonetheless, a similar attempt at banning such marriages failed last year.

The reason I thought it would fail is that there's some silent opposition from at least the members of one religion in the state, and I thought it might arise there.  But, it didn't.  The objections to have a religious tinge to them, but not from the expected quarter.

But it's also taken on a rather creepy tone.

Apparently the email, which wasn't published in full by the press, stated the following:

This bill may seem harmless, but there are concerns about constitutional rights that you need to form your own opinions about

And then it linked to a blog post which it endorses, stating that it's a succinct analysis..

The blog post is easy to find.  And it provides, in its entirety, the following (complete with photo):

HB0007 - Underage marriage-amendments

HB0007 - Underage marriage-amendments

Sponsored By: Representative(s) Zwonitzer, Dn and Oakley and Senator(s) Case and Furphy

ESSENCE: "No person shall marry who is under the age of sixteen (16) years." PERIOD. END OF STORY. AND "Marriages contracted in Wyoming are void without any decree of divorce:... When either party is under sixteen (16) years of age at the time of contracting the marriage."

ACTION:

Write the members of the Senate and ask them to vote "NO" when HB 7 comes up on Monday's 2nd Reading.

Jim.Anderson@wyoleg.gov; Fred.Baldwin@wyoleg.gov; Eric.Barlow@wyoleg.gov; Bo.Biteman@wyoleg.gov; Brian.Boner@wyoleg.gov; Anthony.Bouchard@wyoleg.gov; Evie.Brennan@wyoleg.gov; Cale.Case@wyoleg.gov; Ed.Cooper@wyoleg.gov; Dan.Dockstader@wyoleg.gov; Ogden.Driskill@wyoleg.gov; Affie.Ellis@wyoleg.gov; Tim.French@wyoleg.gov; Dan.Furphy@wyoleg.gov; Larry.Hicks@wyoleg.gov; Lynn.Hutchings@wyoleg.gov; Bob.Ide@wyoleg.gov; Stacy.Jones@wyoleg.gov; Dave.Kinskey@wyoleg.gov; John.Kolb@wyoleg.gov; Bill.Landen@wyoleg.gov; Dan.Laursen@wyoleg.gov; Troy.McKeown@wyoleg.gov; Tara.Nethercott@wyoleg.gov; Stephan.Pappas@wyoleg.gov; Tim.Salazar@wyoleg.gov; Wendy.Schuler@wyoleg.gov; Charles.Scott@wyoleg.gov; Cheri.Steinmetz@wyoleg.gov

CONCERNS:

HB 7 denies the fundamental purpose of marriage:

Marriage is the only institution in Wyoming Statute designed to keep a child's father and mother living under the same roof and cooperating in the raising of any children that they, together, conceive. This is the NATURAL RIGHT of every child. As such, it is protected in the Wyoming Constitution (see. Art. 1, Sec. 3 and 23). Since young men and women may be physically capable of begetting and bearing children prior to the age of 16, marriage MUST remain open to them for the sake of those children. 

The sad fact that physical maturity often does not match emotional and intellectual maturity is an indictment of our modern educational system. That is a problem that should be addressed. But we should not use it as an excuse to instantiate bad law.

HB 7 denies parental rights.

Parents, by virtue of their right to conceive children, have the pre-political (i.e. God-given) responsibility to raise their own children. This right and responsibility includes guiding their own maturing children into the estate of Holy Matrimony. HB 7 strips parents of their right to consent to properly desired and well-ordered marriages when they are below an arbitrary age. Moreover, this arbitrary age limit is demonstrably lower than the historical norm of millennia of human existence. 

It is true that some perverse religions and cultures COERCE children to marry young, against their wishes. Sometimes, as in the case of human trafficking, this coercion comes from outside the family. Sometimes, it comes from the parents themselves. The Constitutional rights of children require that side-boards be in place to prevent such perversions. But those side-boards already exist in the form of written parental consent and judicial review of that consent. HB 7 removes those side-boards and replaces them with an arbitrary number that has no organic or essential impetus behind it. 

Comparison with other states:

Nearly all (49 out of 50 states) set the minimum age of legal consent at 18--just exactly as Wyoming does. Also like Wyoming, 46 of 50 allow people to get married below the minimum age if their parents give permission. Of these, 37 set the lowest age of marriage with parental consent at 16, while four (IN, NE, OR, WA) set it at 17, two set it at 15 (HI and MO), one (NH) sets it at 13, and two (CA and MS) have no minimum age for parental consent. 

In addition to CA and MS, 12 other states (AK, GA, HI, KS, MD, MA, NM, NC, OK, RI, UT, WV, WY) have judicial mechanisms that allow exceptions to the minimum age with parental consent. Some of these exceptions specifically name pregnancy, some prohibit age-differentials between the bride and groom more than four years. The sponsor testified that "Wyoming is one of eight states remaining, I believe, that do not have a minimum marriage age in statute" (AK, CA, MA, NM, NC, OK, RI, WV, WY and Puerto Rico). (Only California has both NO minimum age, and NO judicial mechanism.) The remaining 42 states set the absolute minimum age at 13 (NH), 15 (HI and MO), 17 (IN, NE, OR, WA) and 18 (KY and LA) and 16. HB 7 wipes away Wyoming's current mechanism for taking into account ANY special circumstances.

Testimony: 

Additionally, the bringers of HB 7 offer no evidence that Wyoming is facing any statistical uptick of coerced marriages. In the House committee, there was no testimony weighing the trade-off of parental rights over against any “significant issue” with child marriage in Wyoming. To the contrary, the sponsor of the bill openly admitted that “it is not what we would call a problem in this state.” On average 20 marriages per year under 18 and under in Wyoming. There was no testimony about the factual number under 16. Nor was there any testimony about why under 16 years old there should be no judicial exceptions.

Rather, the sponsor openly testified that the reason for bringing the bill is to “keep up with the Jones’” (i.e. 42 other states have put arbitrary age restrictions on marriage. After this dubious motivation, the testimony given in committee was fraught with hypothetical harms. For instance: “if a minor wants a divorce, she can’t hire of lawyer.” Or, “Minors might be coerced into marriage.” Or, “Minors, are not mature enough to marry.” All these cautions are already covered by current law that requires a judge to investigate whether or not the person is being coerced into marriage if that person is mature enough to legally consent. It is rather insulting to say that Wyoming judges are not up to the task that has been given them by law. But, that could be remedied by giving them legislative guidance or additional help. The responsibility does not need to be taken away altogether.

HB 7 violates the right of Wyoming citizens to marry.

Only a generation ago, people were regularly ready for marriage by the age of 15, not 16, and still today many Wyoming couples are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary after having been married prior to 15. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is pertinent, here. "1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. 2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." As evidenced by the wide differences between states, the age of 16 is an arbitrary limitation that may serve as a general rule, but cannot be absolutely enforced without violating the "full age" standard of Article 16. HB 7 would arbitrarily strip away that right from people who actually have a legitimate reason to marry, and who desire to give their child a stable and loving home. This is unjust both to child and parents. 

FOR FURTHER READING:

Cowboy State Daily, Bill Banning Teens Younger Than 16 To Marry Passes Unanimously Through Senate Committee

Jonathan Lange, UNICEF Comes to Wyoming: Ham-handed uniformity oppresses the human family

PROGRESS:

1/13/2023 H Introduced and Referred to H03 - Revenue

1/17/2023 H03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 6-3-0-0-0

Ayes:  Representative(s) Byron, Harshman, Northrup, Oakley, Storer, Zwonitzer

Nays:  Representative(s) Bear, Locke, Strock

1/18/2023 H COW:Passed / 1/19/2023 H 2nd Reading:Passed

1/20/2023 H 3rd Reading:Passed 36-25-1-0-0

Ayes:  Representative(s) Andrew, Berger, Brown, Burkhart, Jr, Byron, Chadwick, Chestek, Clouston, Conrad, Crago, Eklund, Harshman, Henderson, Larsen, Lloyd, Larson, Jt, Lawley, Nicholas, Niemiec, Northrup, Oakley, Obermueller, O'hearn, Olsen, Provenza, Sherwood, Speaker Sommers, Stith, Storer, Trujillo, Walters, Washut, Western, Wylie, Yin, Zwonitzer, Dan, Zwonitzer, Dave

Nays:  Representative(s) Allemand, Allred, Angelos, Banks, Bear, Davis, Haroldson, Heiner, Hornok, Jennings, Knapp, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Penn, Rodriguez-Williams, Singh, Slagle, Smith, Strock, Styvar, Tarver, Ward, Winter

Excused:  Representative Newsome

2/2/2023 S Introduced and Referred to S07 - Corporations

2/9/2023 S07 - Corporations:Recommend Do Pass 4-0-1-0-0

Ayes:  Senator(s) Barlow, Boner, Case, Scott

Excused:  Senator Landen

2/9/2023 S COW: Passed 15-12 (standing vote)

Aye: Case, Cooper, Anderson, Boner, Scott, Jones, Pappas, Geireau, Ellis, Schuler, Barlow, Landen, Rothfuss, Furphy, Bouchard

Nay: Dockstader, Baldwin, Kinsky, Hicks, Steinmetz, Biteman, Salazar, Ide, French, Kolb, Hutchings, McKeown

Absent: Nethercott, Brennen (chair), Driskill, Laurson

Note the photograph, presumably representing a teenage girl, was in the original,  I didn't put it up there.

The gist of the argument is several fold as being presented here and elsewhere, which is.

1.  The bill will make it impossible for girls younger than 16 to get married if they get pregnant.

2.  In the past such marriages were common and its only through the operation of negative modern societal institutions that they aren't now.

3.  There are lots of examples of such marriages working out.

All of these are pretty bad arguments.

First of all, let's try to eliminate the following fallacy:

Moreover, this arbitrary age limit is demonstrably lower than the historical norm of millennia of human existence. 

And:

Only a generation ago, people were regularly ready for marriage by the age of 15, not 16, . . . 

This is only true, ironically enough if you consider the source of this post, if you consider the pre Christian era. And in doing so, let's turn to one of our exciting incitfal posts on this blog:

Shockingly young! Surprisingly old! Too young, too old! Well, nothing much actually changing at all. . . Marriage ages then. . . and now. . and what does it all mean?

As pointed out in that insightful analysis, the "they used to marry younger" claim is really a myth.  Looking back over a century, we noted:

The median age for women was 21.6 in 1910. The same year, the median age for men was 25.1.

At the time the author wrote this entry, 2010, the median age for women was 25.0.  The median age for men was 26.7.  Data suggested that it had crept up a little over 1.7 years for women and 1.3 years for men.

Okay, that is a difference, but is that what you were expecting?

I doubt it, unless you are quite familiar with these statistics.

So, over century, the average age for "first marriages" has gone up a little under four years for women, and a little over 1.5 years for men.  Not that much of a climb.

 Indeed, when we went further, we found:

Let's take a table that somebody else has generated and see if it changes things at all:

Year --- Men --- Women
2015 ----29.2 ----27.1
2010 --- 28.2 --- 26.1
2000 --- 26.8 --- 25.1
1990 --- 26.1 --- 23.9
1980 --- 24.7 --- 22.0
1970 --- 23.2 --- 20.8
1960 --- 22.8 --- 20.3
1950 --- 22.8 --- 20.3
1940 --- 24.3 --- 21.5
1930 --- 24.3 --- 21.3
1920 --- 24.6 --- 21.2
1910 --- 25.1 --- 21.6
1900 --- 25.9 --- 21.9
1890 --- 26.1 --- 22.0

Okay, that doesn't take us a lot further back, but it also produces some interesting results.  If we go all the way back to 1890 what we find is that the median age for men was 26.1, and that it then went down a year by 1910.  It continued to go down until 1960, at which time it was 22.8 years.  That really doesn't fit with our picture at all.  If we'd been making this same calculation mid 20th Century, we'd be noting that marriage ages were going down.  Now, if this table is correct, the age for men is 29.2, way up from 1960, and about three years up from 1890.  From 1890 on, however, it took all the way until 1990, 100 hundred years, for the age for men to rise back up to what it had been in 1890.  For that matter, it took from 1890 until 1980 for the age to rise back up to 22.0 years for women, although its climbed dramatically since then. . . maybe.

And then. . . :

Let's look at 1850.

In 1850 the average marriage age for men was 28.

Um. . . 28?  Yes, we just climbed up over that in 2010.

And for women it was 26.  We got back to that in 2010 also.

It took us 130 years for the average "first" marriage age to get back to what it had been in 1850.

In other words, the claim, if we keep it back to the last two centuries, that there were vast number of sober, or giddy, middle teens getting married back in the day, is pretty much a flaming pile of cow flop.  In reality, before the American Civil War, back in that more agrarian and rustic era, your average bride was 26, and the average groom, 28.

Not exactly teenagers.

In truth, this has been the case since the Middle Ages, and that's no accident.  Examples of girls being married off were common in pre-Christian Europe, but not once Christianity set in.  And that's for a simple reason.  In most of pre-Christian Europe, women were basically chattel.  Girls were being sold into marriage.  "Look, Gunther, I'd really like that field and those cattle. . . how about taking young Ursula here. . . "

Ursula didn't have any say in the matter, including what followed.

After the Catholic Church, which was the only Christian Church at the time, being the first and original Church, came in, it introduced the requirement that Ursula had to consent to the marriage.  I.e, women could say no, and they started saying it in droves.  Marriage ages went way, way, up.

That's a lesson for us in a variety of ways, and plays into some other threads we have going on here, including the one about transgenderism.  Our modern pornofied culture isn't letting girls say no, now that it's barbarized once again, and they're finding a way to opt out.  That's another topic, but on this one, no, there really wasn't a recent era or even an ancient one, unless we go back to cultures and eras that hadn't yet received Christian missionaries.

Which points out why not knowing history is a bad thing in more ways than one.  Not knowing history consistently causes this inaccurate myth, and not knowing the history of discovering the metaphysical leads back to a narrow world in which marrying children as they're knocked up seems like a good societal idea to some.

The science is bad here too, as it's missing.  We now know that humans do not become psychologically mature until their twenties. Yes, they're able to reproduce earlier, but that's due to aboriginal conditions being part of our DNA.  Our DNA, in that instance, is hedging the bets in times of plenty, basically.  It's not demanding that you marry at 15.

Which gets into an undercurrent here.

There is a conservative, for lack of a better way to put it, or perhaps a religio-conservative movement out there right now that argues for really early marriage, although it's hesitant to do it openly.  Not early teen ones, but early ones, and its fine with teenage marriages in the upper ranges. Where that's concentrated in some, but not all, of its backer, you'll inevitably get; "and. . . well, if they're a little younger. . . that's okay" sneaking in.

Even the blog posts notes that there are "perverse" religious movements that push children towards marriage.

Written through the blog post is something else, but oddly it doesn't really come straight out and say it.  That argument is that some teenagers get pregnant, and younger than 16, and therefore, if they elect to get married in their child's interest, they should be allowed to do so.

That's about the only argument in here that makes sense in any fashion, but frankly the number of teens getting pregnant is dropping.  And, on psychological maturity once again, making that sober decision at age 15 or younger, a this bill would allow, is putting an immature mind in a bad spot.  While the post likes to gush about young marriages, as in:

Only a generation ago, people were regularly ready for marriage by the age of 15, not 16, and still today many Wyoming couples are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary after having been married prior to 15. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is pertinent, here. "1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. 2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." As evidenced by the wide differences between states, the age of 16 is an arbitrary limitation that may serve as a general rule, but cannot be absolutely enforced without violating the "full age" standard of Article 16. HB 7 would arbitrarily strip away that right from people who actually have a legitimate reason to marry, and who desire to give their child a stable and loving home. This is unjust both to child and parents. 

most don't really work out. Sure some do, but they're the exception, and those people likely could wait a year or two and then get married, if they're that grounded.

What this all ignores is a couple of other things.

Nobody ever tends to note in these things that the really young marriages we see today, which are few and far between, are mostly concentrated in an immigrant culture where in fact younger women getting married, if not common (and it isn't) is still societally allowed.  Indeed, members of that culture feature in some of the statutory rape cases in Wyoming in part because of the 30-year-old guy 16-year-old girl thing still being societally tolerated where they are from.  The one marriage mentioned in the recent legislative debate noted a 16-year-old girl and a 32-year-old man, and I'd bet dollars to donuts that 2022 marriage fit into this category.  

That's usually not mentioned as its a cultural topic in a field where people do not wish to tread.

The other aspect of this that people are dancing around is the "shotgun wedding" aspect of such weddings.  They're really rare now, and frankly were really rare back in the day, but they fit into this general category quite a bit.  Indeed, back in the day when they did occur there was, probably more often than not, at least an element of that in most of them.

Which brings me to another topic I have a draft post on and haven't finished.  The other thing that was really common not all that long ago was for teenage girls to simply give the children up for adoption.  That option was humane and often gave the child a much better chance at a decent life than being raised by their mother, and it also gave the mother quite often a chance to avoid scandal.  The sense of scandal in our society has evaporated, but this is, at least, something that ought to be remembered.

The source of the blog post, by the way, seems to be a conservative Lutheran pastor, so he's not in the theologically extreme camp.  He is, rather, just highly conservative.

In other news, SF0034 Trespass by small unmanned aircraft., failed in the Senate.

Last prior thread:

The 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session. Bills start to advance. (Vol 4).